Sleepless
by weapon13WhiteFang
Summary: The worries of parenthood can be challenging and anxiety inducing. You need to trust your partner to make things easier on you and them. But when you're not use to trusting things can get stressful.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Human Target. At All. I do, however, own any new characters that pop up in this story. I own the mention establishment and anything in it as well... Save for the boys. The place and unknown characters are mine. Therefore, please ASK ME before trying to use. Thanks ^^

**Authoress Note:** So I'm back home from college for the summer… I'm kinda pissed. I failed classes and now I'm gonna be on academic probation. It's very shameful for me especially after how many hours I put into each class… But this happens sometimes. Just gotta keep moving forward.

**Extra Note:** To cheer myself up I thought I'd do something involving cuteness and Guerrero. Yeah weird combo, right? Well I'm in a weird, need a happy moment now, mood so that's why this thing is happening. Plus I did have the idea poking at my brain last week. So yeah. Why not?

* * *

**Sleepless**

The San Francisco sky was dark and the moon was high and shining down on an idealistic suburban neighborhood. No one was out save for a few late night workers heading out or coming home. A few cats lounged on porches and dogs ran around in their cages.

One house, a light blue painted two story with its own white fence and flower gardens and a yard with brand-new toys for a boy, was not as lifeless as it appeared.

Inside, mid-twenties and tired Elsie Blake was roused by the feel of the mattress lurching beneath her, signaling the sudden movement of her partner. She didn't bother to open her tired eyes, knowing what they would see. It wasn't hard to figure out. He tried so hard to be so stealthy with it, but motherhood had made her senses stronger than normal and his movements, while always calculated and quick, couldn't fight evolution.

If she opened her eyes she knew she'd see him sitting up and grabbing for that damn gun that he insisted on keeping on the nightstand no matter how many times she tried to tell him he didn't need to here. She trusted him, sure, but that didn't mean she liked having a gun in the house with her son right across the hall.

"Jack," Elsie murmured groggily, lifting her head just a little from the pillow, "go back to sleep. He's fine." Her head hit the pillow again as, her eyes still closed, heard and felt him shift towards the end of the bed. "Heard something," he murmured.

"He's fine, Jack. Come back to bed," she opened her eyes to look at his well-toned back to her as he looked around, listening, hand on the gun. She sympathized with his anxiety. This was hard for him. This was a man who wasn't use to having something to protect but himself for years. She wasn't sure exactly what he did. He told her it was safer that she didn't. But she could figure it was something not entirely sane and safe that lead him to be the way he is.

To top this new need to protect, he also had to deal with the new fears of parenting. Truthfully she was surprised he was here now. Here in her life. He wasn't always here at the house, sure. In fact he was away on "business" sometimes for weeks. Up until her last months of pregnancy he'd been almost scarce.

She could still recall how almost cold he'd seemed when they'd run into each other again after that one night stand. At the same bar even. She took him for a one night only at a new bar kind of guy. It had been her friend's idea to even be there that night. She hadn't drank because she'd just discovered she was pregnant. They'd been out to cheer her up. She had been stressed and upset.

And there he'd been. Sitting in the same place they'd met. He'd seemed almost as surprised as her… And high and drunk as Hell. She'd sat right next to him without a word. He acknowledged her with only a glance and she a weak smile. Then, after what had felt like hours of awkwardness, she opened her mouth and uttered "I'm pregnant. It's yours" and boom! He was dragging her off to the back alley to the car he'd owned.

At first he didn't believe her and made her get a pregnancy test from the store. She humored him and had bought three different ones before, at a motel bathroom. She pissed on them and slid them under the door for him to see as she washed her hands. Thinking about it now was comical but at the time she'd been annoyed by his suspicions.

"Go back to bed," he said as he started to rise, "I'm going to go check something." Elsie pushed herself up and grabbed for his wrist. She flinched as he instead grabbed hers before she could get close and twisted. Ouch! "You might wake him up. You'll scare him with that gun," she almost hissed as he let go of her. She rubbed her sore arm and looked at him as best she could in the dark, his back still to her.

He was stiff and didn't look like he'd be going back to sleep anytime soon. "Jack," she sighed, pushing the covers up and crawling over to sit by him in a tank-top and undies, "it's OK. I swear he's fine. Trust me." She carefully placed her hand on his muscled arm and felt how stiff he was.

"See that's the thing. I don't," he murmured. Elsie fought not to flich at the stabbing pain his words had. That's right. He didn't trust anyone. Not even the woman who gave him his first son. Not even the woman who hadn't asked any questions when he'd shown up stoned and shot while she was seven months pregnant. Of course.

She tried to hide the hurt in her voice as she crawled back over to her side, to hurt and tired now to try and stop him. "Please don't wake him up then," she whispered softly, her voice catching as she buried her face in her pillow, feeling tears prick her eyes as she tried to go back to sleep.

For a while nothing happened. Then she felt the bed shift and even out, alerting her that he'd gotten up. He was good at moving without making sound so she didn't expect to hear him leave. Elsie bit her inner cheek and took in a deep breath, trying to block out her thoughts and go to sleep.

"Hey?" Elsie, startled, jumped a little and lifted her head from the pillow, her hair slightly in her face as she looked up. He stood above her, gun free and looking… Uncomfortable? Elsie pushed her hair behind her ear and sat up, curling her legs to her chest as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked... Awkward almost. Like he wasn't sure about what he was doing.

"Sorry," he almost blurted out and she blinked in confusion. Huh? "Look it's nothing personal. Hard for me to trust people," he murmured, staring down at his hands. Elsie nodded, though he couldn't see, and bit her lip. "Have you ever trusted anyone?" she asked softly.

He looked at her then, his sharp blue eyes almost glowing in the moonlit bedroom. "Yeah. Guy I worked with… He bailed though," he sighed, looking annoyed. Elsie nodded, trying not to feel jealous of this man he was talking about. "I trust you," she said, and he raised a brow. God he was cute when he was curious… Ugh! Not now Elsie!

She smiled a little. "I trust you. Not just because you're Jason's father, either," she added as he opened his mouth, "I trust you because you've done nothing to make me not. You were there for me during the delivery. I feel safe with you. I know it's crazy. You've been somewhat living with me for only a few months and we still don't know that much about each other… But I still trust you… And well," she smiled a real warm smile, "maybe you can trust me someday. I think… I think you do more than you realize, though. Otherwise you wouldn't have come to me when you were hurt. Or stayed here..."

She trailed off with a small shrug and let her legs down, her feet touching his side as she curled down into the bed as he stared at her intently. She ignored it as best she could, though. "Is he OK?" she asked, knowing he'd already been to check on Jason. He gave a small nod and she nodded back before snuggling deeper down into the pillow and yawning. "That's good."

She could feel him watching her still, but she was too tired to ask about it and let herself drift off slowly, the warmth and comfort of her covers and bed dragging her into dreamland.

**-0-**

"Morning baby boy," she cooed happily as she looked down into the crib. Her son – her treasure and love and life – stared up at her as his baby brain slowly registered "mommy!" and he gave her a toothless smile. She grinned and reached down and picked him up, patting his bottom as he made sucking noises with his little mouth.

Chuckling, Elsie walked over to sit on the rocking chair her mother had given her for the baby shower and grabbed a towel and pulled her shirt down, nestling Jason against her and pulling the towel over her as he latched onto her and began to suck.

She hadn't been gun-ho on breast feeding at first, but when she'd heard it was said to help build a stronger bond between mother and child, she'd gone for it. It had felt odd at first, but now she was adjusting well enough. She rubbed Jason's back as she rocked, humming _Earth Angel _softly.

Looking down and adjusting Jason so she could hold him more comfortably, Elsie almost jumped when she looked up and found Jack standing in the doorway in jeans, a hoodie, and his boots as he munched on a bowel of what looked like Fruity Pebbles. _Her _Fruity Pebbles.

Eating her cereal aside though, Elsie was surprised to find him still here. Last night he'd said he had work in the morning and that usually meant he was awake and gone before she got Jason to his feeding. "I thought you had to work?" she asked, looking down at Jason and flinching as his mouth clamped down a bit hard. Ouch! He finished off another spoonful of cereal and watched her. "Called in for a reschedule," he shrugged, "gonna deal with it tomorrow."

Elsie felt her mouth form an "o" shape as she removed Jason from her breast and wiped him and herself off, pulling up her shirt. "Oh… What are you going to do today? I don't go back to work for another two weeks so I'm just going to be watching Jason," she stood and cradled her son as he cooed and played with her necklace his little fingers had clamped around.

Jack finished off his bowl – milk and all – before walking over and plucked Jason from her arms. Jason's little brown eyes widened and blinked to adjust before he cooed loudly and his little hand reached up to pat at his father's scruff covered cheek. Elsie watched as a twinkle – a barely noticeable twinkle – flashed in Jack's bright blue eyes and she knew just what he wanted to do today.

"Come on, little dude," he said, turning and walking off to the living-room, "cartoon time." Elsie stood in Jason's doorway looking down the hall as Jack sat in the reclining chair with Jason on his stomach as the _Looney Toons_ music started playing as he turned on the TV. A feeling of normalcy – like this was a real family and her and Jack were married – washed over her. She would welcome it just for today.

She turned off the bedroom light before walking to the kitchen to make herself some coffee so she could sit down and watch TV with her boys.

**R & R Plz**

**Weird and not that good. I know. But as I said I'm in a weird and off mood…**


End file.
